01 Introduction to Comparative Politics

Basic Components

Assumption, Hypothesis, and Predictions.

Comparability (between cases)

While the total number of variables cannot be reduced, by using comparable cases in which many variables are constant, one can reduce considerably the number of operative variables and study their relationships under controlled conditions without the problem of running out of cases. -method of difference: consists of comparing instances in which a phenomenon does occur with instances in other respects similar in which it does not -method of concomitant variation: instead of observing merely the presence or absence of the operative variables, it observes and measures the quantitative variations of the operative variables and relates these to each other -analysis of a single country diachronically: comparison of the same units at different times -focus on intra-nation rather than inter-nation

Hypothesis

a conjecture about the relationship between one or more independent variables and a dependent variable -Hypotheses only explain relationships, not the actual process from the independent/explanatory variables to the dependent variable.

Nationalism

a nation's self-awareness (recognition of itself as a group united by shared cultural features such as myths and symbols and language) -sense of unity = national identity

Majoritarian democracy

flexible and easily amended democracy that is dependent on executive. centralized government.

Ways to define democracy (Procedural approach)

focuses on how regime is organized and decision making process that is involved (Majority rules)

Research Questions

formulated in the attempt to solve important puzzles in politics

Sovereignty

governing institutions of a state have ultimate control over affairs within the state's territory -Sovereignty is what makes a state different from other levels of political organization such as local governments or international organizations. -States may choose to surrender a degree of sovereignty to international organizations (UN) or other entities (in return for security and such). -States can also lose control of part of their sovereignty to rebel groups or foreign powers. -Those lacking some aspect of sovereignty can become a failed state. (i.e. Syria)

Direct Democracy

The citizens are the primary agent for reaching collective decisions (Rules by the people)

GDP

is a measure of a country's overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year (measured in constant dollars to control the additional value of goods and services resulting from inflation) -does not measure the informal economy (black market) -per capita GDP = GDP divided by number of people in a country

Nation

large self-aware segment of society united by shared cultural features and possessing a belief in the right to political control over a particular territory -Sometimes nations will exist without their own state. (ex. Kurds in Iraq and Pakistan) -Members of the nation may pursue political control of a territory within an existing state or even several states. (Kurdistan encompasses parts of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran.)

Nationalist

leaders of nationalist movements who typically define membership and territory of the nation

absolute majority

more than half of those entitles to vote

simple majority

more than half of those voting

concurrent majority

more than one majority requires

qualified majority

more than simple majority. (2/3)

Dependent variable

outcome variable dependent on other variables (Effect, y, output)

Patriotism

pride in one's state -Citizens are patriotic when they have pride in their political system and seek to defend it.

Nationalism

pursuit of rights for a nation; territorial self-determination; pride in one's own people and the belief in their own sovereign political identity

Democracy

regime type that involves the selection of government officials through free and fair elections, a balance between the principle of majority rule and protection of minority interests, and constitutional limitations on government actions -defining point = free and fair elections

Political Ideology

set of political values held by individuals regarding the fundamental goals of politics

Theory

set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural and social phenomena -Social science (especially political science) is all about theory building. -Theories should be able to be applied to a broader spectrum -Theories explain human behavior as well as social phenomena. -When theory is proven absolutely true, it becomes law. -To test a theory, we must formulate a hypothesis.

Comparative Politics

the comparing of difference cases to understand the forces that drive political outcomes around the world -In other words, we are trying to understand political outcomes within the context of comparative politics.

Economic Growth

the increase in a state's economic production over a particular period of time. Growth is typically measured by changes in a countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Political Economy

the interplay between economics and politics. Politics shape economics and economics shape politics. -Class is a large group of people with similar economic attributes that shape their lifestyle and life chances -class structure = strong predictor of voting choice

plurality

the largest number of cotes but not necessarily the popular majority.

Regime

the political system of a particular state (including its rule-making institutions and the rules for making new rules also known as the constitution) -institutionalized but can be changed by dramatic social events such as revolution -embodied in the state constitution -constitution = key institution -The regime is defined as the fundamental rules and norms in policies of the nation-state. Long term goal is providing individual freedom, collective equality, and where power should reside in terms of how it should be used. Otherwise known as the entire political system of that particular state.

Causality

the relationship between two or more variables where changes in the value of one produce a change in the value of the other

Political Culture

the underlying set of values and beliefs about politics and the system of meaning for interpreting politics among a given population

Goal of comparativists

understanding/explaining causal relationships (input/explanatory/independent variable --> output/dependent variable)

Political Attitude

views regarding the necessary pace and scope of change between freedom and equality

Politics

The decisions that decide who gets what, when, and how. Politics are useful in that these decisions may help to organize individuals, resolve disputes, and maintain order in society (through rules/laws and policy -- In exchange for the order that governments provide through politics, individuals surrender a certain degree of freedom). These decisions often involve winners and losers (with policies that extract and distribute resources or address grievances and settle disagreements), making it a process of deciding who gets what, when, and how.

Rentier State

The theory of the "rentier state" says that countries that receive substantial amounts of oil revenues (or other natural resources) from the outside world on a regular basis tend to become autonomous from their societies, unaccountable to their citizens, and autocratic. -helps to explain why many Middle Eastern states are dictatorships -Money has kept authoritarian regimes in power, because they don't depend on civilians who would normally run the economy through capitalism.

One-Party state

Use of a political party to control the state and society.

Political Community

What political unit does the population identify most readily? (usually that of a state or that of an ethnic group)

Legitimacy

Where regimes lose legitimacy to rule, they face collapse. -Legitimacy can refer to either the regime or the individual. -An illegitimate regime can refer to a broken system. -An illegitimate leader is just an illegitimate leader and it does not necessarily question the entire system of the country.

Consensus Democracy

Federal and decentralized government. Rigid and difficult to amend. constitutional court. independent of executive.

Resource Curse

For countries with a large amount of a sought-after raw material, the incentive to focus on the extraction and export of that commodity is great, even if it discourages economic diversity. As a result, the wealth from these exports may not generate comprehensive economic development. -New oil discovery --> new oil wealths --> leads government to prioritize oil extraction --> oil wealth does not reach general population nor invested in other sectors of the economy --> oil wealth continues to be invested in the energy sector and diverted to pockets of government officials --> country fails to develop a middle class, diversify its economy, or prioritize education --> corruption and non-democracy deepen

Monarchy

Form of government where monarchs have absolute power

Contrast to Przeworski's and Limongi's argument...

"Democratic Transitions" -Boix and Stokes basically say that Przeworski and Limongi misinterpreted one of the coefficients in their studies. They merge their data sets with Przeworski's data set and rerun some numbers to find that the conclusions listed above are correct and the endogenous theory actually has support. -Epstein provides a more advanced critique reanalyzing the data sets that Przeworski and Limongi used with more sophisticated methods to, again, reinforce the idea that the endogenous theory is actually supported. -Both the endogenous and exogenous theories of democracy are correct, but outlier cases still do exist.

State

(Max Weber) organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory and has the following attributes: -a permanent population -a defined territory -government institutions -sovereignty -international recognition

"Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy" (Barrington Moore)

-3 routes to modern world/society 1. Bourgeois revolution - combined capitalism and parliamentary democracy after a series of revolution (Capitalism Parliamentary) 2. Capitalism Revolutionary route (capitalist route) - in the absence of a strong revolutionary surge that passed through reactionary political forms to culminate in fascism 3. Communist route -Development of a democracy is a struggle to do 3 closely related things: 1. check arbitrary rules 2. replace arbitrary rules with just and rational ones 3. obtain a share for the underlying population in the making of rules (4). Efforts to establish the rule of law, the power of the legislature, and to use th estate as an engine for social welfare are other aspects.

Political Culture of China

-Chinese political culture continues to reflect values of Confucianism. -Confucian traditions emphasize hierarchy and respect for authority within all major social institutions with a series of dominant-subordinate relationships (parent-child; male-female; old-young). -Another Confucius legacy is the emphasis on order and security at the expense of freedom; social harmony occurs by respecting those in positions of authority - less room for individual freedom -The legacy of Confucianism may have hindered the democratic process in China, because in order to become a democratic power, the civilians must overthrow the existing regime, which goes against Confucian ideals (of social hierarchy and of social harmony).

Conclusion about modernization and democracy...

-Development brings about democracy. -Development sustains democracy. -There is empirical support for both the endogenous and exogenous theories of democratization.

Trade Off Between Liberty and Security

-Where freedom is more important than order and security, there will be a strong emphasis on negative rights - freedoms from governmental action or things government cannot do to citizens of the state. -Where security and order are more important than freedom, the state may be highly intrusive (e.g., imposition of marshal law).

Political System of the Vatican City State

-absolute monarchy (Pope has absolute power in executive, legislative, and judicial matters.) -theocracy -smallest sovereign state in the world by area and population

Political System of Rwanda

-semi-presidential system -head of state = president (elected every 7 years by popular vote and limited to 2 terms) -head of government appointed by president = prime minister -autocratic

"The Clash of Civilizations" (Huntington)

-Dominant source of conflict for the future = cultural based as interactions between civilizations are increasing -will occur along cultural/civilization fault lines b/c: 1. Differences among civilizations are real and basic. 2. The world is becoming a smaller place. (intensify civilization consciousness and invigorates deep-seated historical animosities) 3. The process of economic modernization and social change throughout the world are separating people from longstanding local identities. (weakens nation-state as source of identity and religions move in to fill the gap) 4. The growth of civilization-consciousness is enhanced by the dual role of the West. -On one hand, the West is at a peak of power while there is a return to non-Western civilizations. A West at the peak of its power confronts non-Wests that increasingly have the desire, the will, and the resources to shape the world in non-Western ways. 5. Cultural characteristics and differences are less mutable and less easily compromised and resolved than political and economic ones. (hard to suppress nationalism) 6. Economic regionalism is increasing. (reinforcing civilization consciousness) 7. Differences in culture and religion also create differences over policy issues, ranging from human rights to immigration to trade and commerce to the environment.

"Modernization: Theories and Facts" (Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi)

-In countries with per capita income under $1,000, the probability that a democracy would die during a particular year was 0.0845, which implies that their expected life was about twelve years. Between $1,001 and $3,000, this probability was 0.0362, for an expected duration of twenty-seven years. Between $3,001 and $6,055, the probability was 0.0166, which translates into about sixty years of expected life. And what happens above $6,055 - democracy lasts forever. -According to Przeworski and Limongi (1997) "...no democracy ever fell, regardless of everything else, in a country with a per capita income higher than that of Argentina in 1975: $6,055 -As countries develop "social structure becomes complex, labor processes begin to require the active cooperation of employees, and new groups emerge and organize." (Przeworski & Limongi 1997, 157). -There is a progressive accumulation of social changes that ready a society to proceed to its culmination, democratization. -Development (decent levels of growth) helps to legitimize regimes sustain democracies. -As authoritarian states do develop, the effects of modernization theory may be stronger than the authoritarian state itself. The people may want other aspects of government other than just legitimacy. (Although Prezeworski and Limongi mainly believed in the exogenous relationship. Development did not necessarily help to produce a democracy, but economic growth helped to sustain one.) -Przeworski and Limongi (1997) assert that the endogenous theory of democratization (that development leads to democracy) lacks empirical support but that the exogenous theory has strong support (development helps sustain democracy).

Group Welfare vs. Interests of the Individual

-Individualistic political cultures discourage governments from implementing policies that protect groups or level the economic field in society. -Collectivistic political cultures are defined by governmental programs aimed at benefiting large numbers of people (social welfare state). -For example, many Western European states feel that collective fate is more important than society individualistic (especially when compared to the political culture in the United States) for more social programs. Citizens do still value the individual, but the individual will make some sacrifices (more taxes or the other) for the benefit of the whole state. The way that these societies developed has created robust, social programs, which have satisfied many in these states.

Institution

-Institutions (together with technology) affect the performance of the economy by their effect on the costs of exchange and production. Transaction costs in political and economic markets can result in inefficient property rights, and the interaction between institutions and organizations can produce a lock-in with perverse feedback that accounts for the persistence of inefficiency. -Institutions are not usually created to be socially efficient; rather, they (at least the formal rules) are created to serve the interests of those with the bargaining power to devise new rules. If economies realize the gains from trade by creating efficient institutions, it is because the circumstances provided incentives for those with bargaining strength to alter institutions in ways that turn out to be socially efficient. -Ex. of a good institution: -property rights because they free up exchange and promote economic development -They (institutions) provide us with certainty. -People don''t want to invest in a country with poor property rights because of fear of seizure or collapse (ex. North Korea).

"Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance" (Douglass North)

-Institutions are humanly devised constraints that shape interaction. -Institutions vary by country and region. -2 types of constraints: 1. Formal - rules that human beings devise (devised) 2. Informal - conventions and codes of behavior (evolved) -The differential performance of economies over time is influenced by the way institutions evolve. -Organizations, on the other hand, provide a structure to human interaction. -Institutions are the framework within which organizations compete/function. -What organizations come into existence and how they evolve are fundamentally influenced by the institutional framework. In turn, they also influence how the institutional framework evolves. -Path to institutional change: 1. organization-institution relationship 2. feedback process of human interaction -Any change happens through incremental change. Ex. of how institutional change is a determinant of economic performance: Changes in relative prices create incentives to construct more efficient organizations. The persistence of inefficient organizations was a result of fiscal needs of rulers that led to shortened time horizons (inefficient institutions) and therefore a disparity between private incentives and social welfare. Ex. Rulers devising property rights in their own interests and transaction costs resulted in typically inefficient property rights prevailing. As a result, it was possible to account for the widespread existence of property rights throughout history and in the present that did not produce economic growth in certain regions of the world.

Political System of Malaysia

-federal parliamentary elective constitutional monarchy -Parliament has an upper (some elected and some appointed) and lower house (elected members). -Constitution declares Islam the state religion but allows for religious freedom for non-Muslims. -head of state = king -head of government = prime minister -semi-democratic according to Polity IV (Polity IV determination rates a state based on whether or not a state is a consolidated democracy (democracy that does not have a possibility of changing to a dictatorship) - a number in the negatives will indicate towards a dictatorship (takes into consideration the separation of powers and whether or not voting occurs, etc. - basically a system that lacks representation)

"Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method" - Arend Lijphart

-Lijphart outlines 4 scientific methods: 1. experimental method 2. statistical method (non-experimental) -- preferred over the comparative method as it controls the variables with partial correlations 3. comparative method (non-experimental) 4. case study method (non-experimental) -Many political scientists had shied away from comparative studies (case comparisons in the comparative method) because of the well-documented methodological problems arising from "many variables, small number of cases." -"Most fruitful approach would be to regard the comparative method as the first stage of research in which general hypotheses are carefully formed , and the statistical analyses as the second stage of research in which these hypotheses are tested in as large a sample as provided." -Lijphart outlines 4 ways to minimize the issue of many variables, small n (for comparative method): 1. Increase n - increasing the number of cases increases the control over the study and leads to greater generalizations (Parsonian theory - extend analysis geographically and longitudinally) 2. Reduce property-space of analysis - combine variables that express similar things into one variable 3. Focus on comparable cases - similar in a large number of important characteristics (variables in terms of constants) but dissimilar in a large number of those variables concerned with their relations with one another (allows the establishment of relationships among a few variables while many other variables are controlled) 4. Focus on key variables (theoretical parsimony) -Basically, Lijphart states that there are two solutions to this problem: 1. increase n 2. decrease the number of variables (done by carefully selecting a number of highly comparable cases)

Modernization and Democracy

-Lipset in 1959 was the first to assert empirical relationship between development and democracy. ("Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy") -"the more well-to-do a nation, the greater the chances that it will sustain democracy" (Lipset 1959, 75) -He hypothesized that that as societies develop economically; their citizens no longer tolerate repressive political regimes. The rise in per capita GDP, he argued, triggers a transition to democracy. -He insists that economies become more sophisticated as GDP per capita rises, which induces a transition to democracy.

Endogenous vs. Exogenous Explanations

-Modernization theory is an endogenous explanation - democracy results from development under authoritarianism. That is, poor, authoritarian countries develop and become democratic once they reach some level of development. -Yet, suppose that dictatorships are equally likely to die and democracies emerge at any level of development and that development helps sustain democracy once it is established (exogenous explanation). They may die for so many reasons that development, with all of its modernizing consequences, may play no privileged role. -- states that there is no threshold of development for which a democracy will be made or an autocracy will collapse BUT there is still a conclusion that development will sustain democracy -Empirical evidence suggests that both the endogenous and exogenous theories are correct.

Scholar Comments on Democracy

-Samuel Huntington: provides a procedural minimalist definition of democracy as "...the selection of leaders through competitive elections by the people they govern." -Robert Dahl: lists seven criteria of Polyarchy which include: 1) elected officials; 2) free and fair elections; 3) inclusive suffrage; 4) the right to run for office; 5) freedom of expression; 6) alternative information; and 7) associational autonomy

Social Capital and Civic Culture

-The cultural form of a society influences prospects for successful democracy; culture can be observed; it is fixed/stable and influences political outcomes. (explanatory variable for political outcomes) -- Almond and Verba -Political differences between northern and southern Italy are explained by differences in political culture, particularly social capital. Putnam treats social capital as an exogenous force that shapes the way states develop and how democracies perform. -- Putnam (The argument that Putnam makes is that informal associations can increase the cooperation among citizens and enhance the ability of opposing factions to compromise.) Northern Italy has higher levels of social capital than Southern Italy. As a result, Northern Italy became more developed (civic engagements) that its southern counterpart (vertical social relations). -In places of higher levels of social capital, people are more likely to engage one another and participate in horizontal social relations. -There are lower amounts of cooperation and greater amounts of distrust among people in places of lower levels of social capital. -Social capital generally refers to the "features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit" (Putnam 1995, 67). --> equated with concept of trust -High levels of social capital --> higher levels of economic and civic success -Culture affects the prospects for whether or not a state can be democratic. -Culture is fixed and given, and some cultures are more conducive to political cultures of trust than others.

Political Culture of Great Britain

-The culture places a great deal of emphasis on the status and authority of elites. -Working class deference: those in working class positions are inferior to the political elites, who respect the authority of political and economic elites who believe that because they have the money, they have the responsibility of utilizing that money for the good of the public -Throughout the 20th century, the Tories or Conservatives could rely on the support of 1/3 of workers. The Tories remained in power because about 30% of the working class supported conservatives (a large amount of blue-collar workers for Conservatives). -Working class deference may explain why Britain lacked violent class uprisings and the maintenance of the Monarch even with limited powers. -Finally, elites in Britain tend to view their economic and social privileges as carrying responsibilities to societies less fortunate

Political Institutions/System in Great Britain

-Westminster political system: prime minister; strong parliament; and a first past the post district electoral system for selecting members of the parliament -United Kingdom: -Constitutional monarchy w/ 2 Houses: 1. House of Lords (non-elected but appointed) - possess no governmental power whatsoever except to delay a bill passed by the Commons 2. House of Commons (elected) - members are elected through a first past the post system by electoral districts known as constituencies and members hold their seats until Parliament in dissolved (max of 5 years after the preceding election) -first past the post district electoral system: candidate with the most vote wins (rather than majoritarian elections with 50% + 1) -- each constituency returns one member with this system under which the candidate with the plurality of votes wins (different from majority = more than half)

Regime Types (3)

1. Democracy - free and fair elections 2. Authoritarianism - staged or no elections (soft vs. hard dictatorships) 3. Totalitarianism - most extreme form of dictatorship when a few group of people hold total power over the population who has no say and the government permeates throughout society and dictates how everything is going to be (for the people and even in their daily lives) -usually regimes devoid of religion and under the communist model -ex. North Korea operates under a Ju-che philosophy about self-reliance that guides the entire state. It has to do with the communist system of government that doesn't rely on outside forces, which has ended up failing the state ultimately. (4?) Theocracy (which may fall underneath authoritarianism or totalitarianism) - a type of political system in which religious leaders hold the main positions in the government and religious law is used as the basis for policy decisions

Types of Countries (3)

1. Economically Developed Countries (EDCs) - high levels of per capita GDP and a sizable middle class with diverse economies -more of these countries tend to be democratic 2. Lesser Developed Countries (LDCs) - low per capita GDP and a small middle class with economic activity often concentrated in agriculture and raw material extraction -more of these countries tend to be dictatorships with authoritarian regimes 3. Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) - countries that have improved their economic performance greatly but still retain enough characteristics of LDCs to keep them from being considered EDCs (many in Asia and Latin America)

Nation (2 types)

1. Ethnic nation - nations whose membership is based on a common ethnic identity (common in Asia and Eastern Europe) 2. Civic nation / Political nation - nations whose membership boundaries are based primarily on the adherence to a set of political values and by citizenship in an existing state, rather than on a specific ethnic identity (usually multi-ethnic)

Levels of Analysis (3)

1. Individuals - political leaders; groups of individuals 2. States - nation state; regions within states, regions of states (most frequently used) 3. International system

Free Elections (4)

1. Individuals have the ability to vote. 2. Votes are made in secret. 3. Candidates have the ability to run for office. 4. Candidates have the ability to campaign for office by providing information to voters.

Validity (2)

1. Internal validity - casual relationship in the case or cases examined are well-founded (does not imply that the finding would hold in all cases but that the researcher appeared to get it right or correct in a particular case) 2. External validity - the casual relationship would apply across cases and to cases that the researcher did not even examine (can only be established through repeated tests of varying cases and also allows for generalization across cases) -For a single case, you would want a high level of internal validity. The first step of theory-building is to have a high level of internal validity to have confident in your theory that it will be able to be applied to other cases as well.

Political Ideologies (5)

1. Liberalism - places a high priority on individual political and economic freedom 2. Communism - advocates state control over all economic resources for redistribution to avoid exploitation of these resources by individuals in order to obtain true economic equality 3. Social Democracy - strong role for private ownership and market forces while still maintaining an emphasis on economic equality (examples of Western European models -- Government is democratic with very robust social programs). 4. Fascism - rejects individual freedom and classifies people and groups in terms of inferiority and superiority 5. Anarchism - rejects the notion of the state and believes that people without the state would be able to cooperate freely as true individuals

Types of Democracies (3)

1. Majoritarian Democracy - strong executive, few checks on the power of the majority to pass laws and amend the constitution, and conflictual politics between two major parties (e.g., United Kingdom) 2. Consensus Democracy - unites proportional representation elections and a multiparty system with the diffusion of power across branches and levels of government (e.g., Germany) 3. Hybrid - a mixture of the two (e.g., the United States mixes features of both although a bit more Majoritarian) -Traditional thought: Consensus democracy provides better representation and protection of minority views, but majoritarian democracy is more efficient. -Lijphart: Lijphart challenges this and argues that consensus democracy is equally effective in maintaining order and managing the economy yet better in representation; he argues that consensus democracy is therefore superior to the majoritarian approach.

Power in politics (4)

1. Power as influence - getting people to do what you want them to do (overcoming the resistance of another) 2. Power as capabilities - characteristics that give one the ability to influence important outcomes 3. Coercive power - getting what one wants through the use of rewards and punishments 4. Non-coercive power - getting what one wants because of legitimacy (ex. If institutions are viewed as legitimate, people will comply with the institution's policies without rewards and punishments.) -- legitimacy: belief in the right of an individual, a political system, or a state to rule -- authority: traditional authority (derived from the subjects' belief that a particular family (monarch) has the "divine right to rule"), charismatic authority (legitimacy comes from the leader's ability to inspire subjects), legal authority (legitimacy is based on established constitution)

Methods of Research (2)

1. Quantitative studies - large number of cases (large-n); utilizes statistical techniques (more widely used by comparativists) 2. Qualitative studies - small number of cases (small-n); not suitable for statistical analyses; often involves a comparison of one case to another -type of qualitative studies method = case study (examining a single case) -Some might initially begin with qualitative studies (case study or other methods of a few cases). Once a theory proves to be true in those cases, a larger sample size might be taken to conduct quantitative studies in order to gain a better understanding of the theory in hand.

Political Attitudes (4)

1. Radical - belief in dramatic, often revolutionary, change of the existing political, social, or economic order 2. Liberal - belief that much can be changed for the better within the current political system 3. Conservative - question if profound change in the existing institution is even needed 4. Reactionary - seek to restore social, political, and economic institutions -may be legacies of those existing from the communist system who is not satisfied with the current democratic system and looking to move in a direction of what existed in a time in the past -ex. After the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, the state reformed itself, but many of its members remembered the times of when the state was communist. There was/is a Communist party/group that did not necessarily want to revert back to a communist state, but they would like to see some of the policies that existed back then implemented into the current system.

Political Culture features (5)

1. Social relations and authority 2. Group welfare vs. the interest of the individual 3. Trade off of liberty and security 4. Legitimacy of the political system and its leaders 5. Political community

Fair Elections (6)

1. Voters to have access to impartial coverage of the campaign in the media 2. Voters to have reasonable access to polling places 3. The vote of each eligible voter - and only eligible voters - to be counted 4. Votes counted equally - one person, one vote 5. Losing candidate accepts results of election -It's important for losing candidates to accept the results of the election as it it important for this losing candidate to rally support for the state who has had the history of democratic successes and to trust in the system. The states whose losing candidates do not accept the results of the election (along with that candidates' supporters) will often encounter civil strife. -ex. Those against Trump have not actually induced civil strife as the US has a strong history of democracy and not many democratic failures. We trust in the system, and Clinton's acceptance of her loss has helped people to support her, Trump, and the state. 6. Electoral process administered and monitored by an impartial body of electoral specialists

Case Studies (6)

1. atheoretical case study - traditional single-country or single-case analyses that are entirely descriptive and not guided by established or hypothesized generalizations 2. interpretative case study - selected for analysis because of an interest in the case rather than an interest in formulation of general theory (to throw light on the specific case) 3. hypothesis-generating case study - to develop theoretical generalizations in areas where no theory exists yet 4. theory-confirming case study - single cases within the framework of established generalizations (test) that strengthen generalization 5. theory-infirming case study - single cases within the framework of established generalizations (test) that weaken generalization 6. deviant case study - uncovers relevant additional variables that were not considered previously to refines definitions of some of the variables -Deviant cases weaken a probabilistic hypothesis, but they can only invalidate it if they turn up in sufficient numbers to make the hypothesized relationship untrue.

Government (3 definitions)

1. the ruling institutions of a given state and the people who occupy positions of power 2. the individuals, the roles they play, and the institutions in which they function that produce policy decisions on behalf of the state 3. the leading policy-making officials such as the prime minister or president and cabinet/legislature at a given time in a particular country -Government is below the regime level in the state level of analysis when trying to determine what kind of state it is.

Culture vs. Institutions

2 schools of thought within political science: 1. Culture matters and determines political outcomes. (e.g. some cultures are conducive to democracy while others are not). 2. In institutionalism, political outcomes are a function of the institution in a particular country and culture is not a determinant of outcomes. -Inclusive institutions will try and overcome some overarching differences in cultures to conduce positive political outcomes.

unanimity majority

All agree

Causal Relation ships vs. Spurious relationship

Cause is based on assumption and prediction. Cause precedes the effect.. Spurious relations is unrelated, but looks like it could be.

Representative/Indirect Democracy

Citizens delegate their power to elected government officials.

Ways to define democracy (Substantive approach)

Deals with the goals and effectiveness of the regime. Promotes equality and fairness.

Military Regime

Declaration of martial law makes police+judicial power subordinate to the military

"Three Paradoxes of Democracy" (James Diamond)

Many of the problems that democracy has experienced in the developing world spring from 3 tensions or paradoxes that inhere in democracy's very nature. 1. Conflict & Consensus - describes the importance of healthy competition among the ruling parties, and its reliance on general consensus to keep conflict in check. If conflict was to consume the institutions of a democracy, "civil peace and political stability" would fall apart. 2. Representativeness & Governability - the need for balance between the government's ability to act and its concern for societal wellbeing. The government must have enough power to "respond" to, "resist" and "mediate" its people, while at the same time protecting their interests through representation in government. 3. Consent & Effectiveness - concerns the effectiveness of the government, and how it is related to the consent of the people. People will consent to only legitimate forms of government, but to be legitimate a leader or administration must be effective and successful. In order to be successful, governments often have to make unpopular decisions, thereby stripping them of the consent of the governed.

Types of Non-democracies

Monarchy, Military regime, One-party state

Most similar design

One thing differs (The cause)

Most different design

One thing that two cases share (The cause)

Gini Coefficient

The Gini coefficient measures the inequality among values of a frequency distribution (e.g., levels of income). -coefficient of 0 = perfect equality where all values are the same -coefficient of 1 = maximum inequality among values

Modernization Theory

a theory used to explain the process of modernization within societies -The theory looks at the internal factors of a country while assuming that, with assistance, "traditional" countries can be brought to development in the same manner more developed countries have. -Modernization theories represent a multidisciplinary effort to examine the situations and the prospects for Third World development. -Process: 1. Modernization is a phased process through which all societies will travel from tradition to modernity. 2. Modernization is a homogenizing process, which produces tendencies toward convergence among societies, the more highly modernized societies become, the more they resemble one another. 3. Modernization is an Europeanization or Americanization process, in which industrialized and democratic Western Europe and United States become the model for the latecomers to emulate. 4. Modernization is an irreversible process, which will inevitably dissolves the traditional traits of the Third World countries. -Modernization is a process that cannot really backslide. There can be some minor, temporary reversions (especially with a small decline in economic development or in the economy). There are some outliers who have slid back into authoritarian regimes. -However, the countries that do have failing democracies do not necessarily reverse the modernization process as they will still have aspects of modern society in their new regimes. 5. Modernization is a progressive process, that is, in the long run, modernization is not only inevitable but also desirable. 6. Modernization is a lengthy process. -Policy implications: 1. The asymmetrical power relationship between "traditional" and "modern" societies is justified. 2. The threat of communism in the Third World is identified as a modernization problem, that is, if the Third World is to modernize, it should move along the path that Western countries have traveled, and move away from communism. 3. Foreign aid policy of the United States is legitimated to extend more "modern" values and more productive investment to the Third World.

Social Relations and Authority

address whether the masses accept the authority of a social elite and consequently whether social relations are vertical or horizontal -vertical social relations: occur in hierarchical societies with those at the top (political elites) have the right to impose their decisions upon those at the bottom (e.g. authoritarian regimes) -horizontal social relations: emphasize equality and a role for many in society to help shape political and social decisions (e.g. democratic regimes)

Nation-State

an independent state existing for a single nation -Nation states may grant some territorial autonomy to a group to let that group govern themselves as they see fit, but they will rarely ever give up actually territory.

Class Consciousness

an individual's awareness of their location in a particular class -High class consciousness is important in shaping political outcomes as it suggests pronounced social cleavages. -High levels of class consciousness have led to civil wars. -Class struggle under capitalism is between those who own the means of production, the ruling class or bourgeoisie, and those who labor for a wage, the working class or proletariat. -Those that own the means of production under capitalism want to maximize their profits, paying the lowest wages they can to their workers. The ruling class tended to exploit workers before labor laws. This have led to the conflict of class struggle, which ultimately has led to the Russian Revolution of 1917. -Karl Marx states that to avoid this sort of revolution or inequality, the best thing was to move towards a communist government, to a classless society. -Countries who did not know about labor laws or any such thing did move towards communism. Usually associated with totalitarian regimes (highly assertive and brutal to enforce this ideology) -Usually huge failures to the economic system with decent GDP per capita growth (moving from agrarian to modern societies) only failing once the economy becomes more complicated than the former (agrarian) -Other countries (like the US) instead tried to reform the system with labor laws. This system also saw the rise of labor unions.

Citizenship

an individual's or group's relationship to the state in that the citizens swear allegiance to the state and in return the state provides certain rights and protections to those citizens

Authoritarian Regime

any political regime that is not democratic, emphasizes obedience to authority while deemphasizing popular control over it

Class Structure

arrangement of the population into different classes; class structure relates to economic equality -High wealth concentration societies tend to have a small middle class. -In a postindustrial, economically developed country, the majority of the population falls into the middle class

Endogeneity

cause and effect evolve together so, over time, each transforms one another -Dependent variable becomes the independent/explanatory variable and the independent variable becomes the outcome/dependent variable. -Ex. If democracy happens, economic development may increase.

Comparativists

compare and contrast the domestic politics of a country with the domestic politics of another country or in-between countries with a goal of explaining causal relationships (relationship between two variables) or with a goal of being country specific focused or regionally focused

Territorial Autonomy

control over the nation but the region is not officially independent so the nation may defer to the state on matters such as national defense

Political outcome examples

elections, type of government (presidential, parliamentary), constitutional reform, civil war, etc.

Country

embodies the state, government, and regime

Independent variable

explanatory variables that attempt to explain the dependent variable or the outcome (Cause, x, input)